May Card-making Session

We met again this month to make some note cards--and found that we had, as usual, a variety of ideas, designs, techniques and color palettes.

Sue used embossing on the cap, diploma and sentiment.  

The brads held the sentiment in place.

A silver on white stripe made a neutral background.

Bonnie brought us dragonflies

and a smudged background on textured watercolor paper.

Of course, she included some bling with the glitter!

I tried a new style for me--rather modern or contemporary!

We used homemade foam circles die cut and mounted on stamp blocks

as well as some purchased circle stamps.

We mixed and matched ink colors on palette paper.

And added some enamel embellishments for texture.

A really nice mix of cards!

We missed Carol who could not attend.

She had the pet card which had been requested for the basket.

Next time...

April Card-Making Session

Our group of card-makers met this afternoon with some great techniques and card designs presented for our crafting session.

Sue started with a linen-stamped background with spring blossoms stamped in black on top.

We used watercolor pens and blender pens to make the blossoms in many colors.

We distressed the edges of the stamped panel to coordinating border panels 

to make an attractive and seasonal card.

Carol designed a card with a negative die cut for the clouds in the blue sky.  A die-cut hello, some flowers and a perky bird set the mood for a spring greeting note card,

Bonnie was inspired by a rainbow background and purple heat embossing powder to

design this lavender beauty.  We heat embossed the flowers first and then daubed

many colors of ink on the background.  Some dry embossed the floral design with

a coordinating embossing folder for a unique look.

My design was simple and clean--except for the paint splotches!

Using brush stroke stamps with ink pads of different colors we created the 

rainbow strokes that ended with coordinating butterflies.

A variety of sentiments and our own individual styles 

in assembling the kits and trying the new techniques and materials

allowed us to fill the basket of cards for sale and for use by Outreach Committee

with delightful and artistic note cards,

And we had a great time working and chatting together, as always!

A Special Card for an Annie Birthday

My niece's daughter will be 4 this week. She had an Annie-themed birthday party this past weekend.  It was very fun with art activities based on Annie's locket and the NYC skyline.  The guests wore red and the girl of the day wore her Annie dress.

I made Annie a special card using the NYC skyline, a rainbow and a sun.

The front had a rainy day scene of the NYC skyline.

The inside revealed a blue sky, sunshine and rainbow sentiment.

I made the gray sky with a die-cut scalloped edge as a stencil

and a make-up sponge as a dauber.  I did the same for the blue sky but

with a chalk stamp in blue.

Another hand-cut stencil of a sun ray and some yellow chalk paint

helped me make sharp edges on the sunburst with the same method.

These two sets of cloud die-cuts, one with a sunshine and matching stamps

completed the details of the scenery.

A rainbow sentiment completed the theme for the birthday girl.

A clever party theme--and a fun card theme also!

Note Cards March 2016

Our paper craft group met last month to make some note cards for ourselves and for the Outreach Committee of our community.  We also sell the cards to residents in the clubhouse.

Here's a card for a masculine birthday or Father's Day.

This is a great masculine card too.

Or a thank you for a beach house weekend?

This is a bright greeting for Spring.

And a Mother's Day card for May.

So fun to get together--and craft--and create!

And they're useful also.

Wonder what designs and techniques we'll come up with in April?

Baby Violet's New Quilt

This new quilt shines in the shadow of the windowpanes as the sun sets today.

All the shades of violet are included:   Robert Kaufman's Spot On Collection in Pindot Violet for the banding and Medium Dot Violet to surround the middle panel of Timeless Treasure's Cats in violet that appears more purple to me.  The pattern includes flowers, butterflies and hearts in lilac.  I used bunnies to celebrate Easter and to include a fabric from one of her sister's quilts. The end panels are Fancy Free Window Pane in violet. The backing is a Michael Miller fabric designed by Violet Craft for the Brambleberry Ridge collection.  The design is Flight Twilight on lavender with white birds. 

It's just a violet fantasy and I can't wait to wrap her in it.

Sweet dreams, Baby Violet!

Carrot Toss bags

Carrot-shaped bean bags ready to be sewn up tight!

Filled with rice so I'll be sewing tiny stitches--maybe twice around?

Pysanky Egg Decorating

 I was fortunate to learn this batik-like art of decorating eggs for Easter from a Laurel Ridge neighbor and good friend who has Ukrainian origins.  She taught a class of about ten people how to apply the pure beeswax with a traditional Kistka.  We followed a beginner's pysanka design of oval egg shapes, round tear drops, pine branches and a star, following Irena's step-by-step directions.  After each application of wax design with the Kistka, we used a different colored dye bath.

The last dye bath was black.

At the end, we heated the egg over a candle flame to remove the wax which covered much of the egg.

Our design appeared in full color and geometry.

Each color and design has a meaning.

The finished pysanky stands for life, hope, happiness, 

and rebirth.

The egg is not blown or hard-boiled.

It is not edible, but much more than decorative due to its symbolic meaning.

It is very fragile but the inside does dry out eventually.

It was awesome to participate in this workshop

using the traditional methods of Ukrainian pysanky.